Linesville Retailer Opens Following Removal of Massive Beehives

In Crawford County, a historic building once infested with honey bees is now open for business. Erie News Now Jamison Hixenbaugh caught up with the owner to find out more about the new retailer.

Monday, November 5th 2018, 5:17 PM EST by Jamison Hixenbaugh

LINESVILLE, PA- For Megan Brokman, it's a moment she's been looking forward to all year long.

"We had been looking for a historical building to have our shop in,” said Brokman. “We stumbled across this amazing building."

After months of restoring the former Depot Junction Auction House, Brokman has officially opened her new business called Farmhouse Supply.

"We've had so many people coming in, stopping in, that know of the building and remember it from their childhood,” said Brokman. “They've been coming in and sharing their stories with us."

The store is filled with antiques, furniture, and other household trinkets.

But months ago, it was filled with thousands of honey bees.

"It was overwhelming,” said Brokman. “But we called the right guy.”

The man she called, is Eric "Critter" McCool of McCool’s Wildlife Control and Bee Extractions.

"I've always said this is my calling,” said McCool. “I've been doing this almost 30 years, so it's a blessing that I have this skill set and experience to be able to solve people’s problems like this."

In August, Critter and his crew removed two massive beehives, totaling 24 feet in length, and nearly 700 pounds of honeycomb from within the walls of the historic building.

"My crew and I were actually stung several times removing them, in an effort to get them out of there." said Critter.

For McCool, who has been stung nearly 8,200 times, including 200 times this year alone, it's just another day at the office.

"Does it still affect me? Yea, it does,” said McCool. “Normally, the first sting of the day gets me fired up and gets me in the work zone and then after that, I'm pretty good to go."

Once the bees are removed, McCool says there are several precautions his crew takes, to ensure that the bees don't get back inside.

"One of the most important things, is making sure your structure outside, whether it's a house or barn or garage, make sure that the outside is sealed up correctly." said McCool.

With her building now bee free, Brokman hopes her business will be a staple of the Linesville community.

"We love this community,” said Brokman. “We've had such great support. All the neighbors and everyone have just been wonderful and we're excited to be here."